The automotive industry is perhaps one of the largest industries in many industrialized regions of the world. As a result, the market for used vehicles has evolved into a substantial market, especially in North America, and in particular, the United States and Canada.
Those parties involved in the trading of used vehicles recognize the importance of information relating to a used vehicle's history in making a purchasing decision including placing a value on the particular vehicle. Consequently, services have been created that function primarily to provide vehicle history information to various parties in the used vehicle market, including dealers and individual consumers. For example, Carfax, Inc., the assignee of the present application, provides a variety of vehicle history information to both buyers and sellers of vehicles. In particular, Carfax offers a web site at www.carfax.com permitting a potential buyer of a vehicle to purchase a vehicle history report containing an extensive collection of information on a particular vehicle. For example, the vehicle history report includes such vehicle history information as model year, odometer readings, ownership records, accident information, the existence of salvage and/or flood titles and maintenance records.
Buyers of used vehicles are often especially concerned about the vehicle meeting fundamental manufacturer warranties and governmental safety standards. It is well known that some used vehicles may contain defects resulting from the design and/or manufacture of the vehicle. Many recalls are initiated solely by vehicle manufacturers to correct defects unrelated to safety while safety-related recalls may be mandated by a government agency. New car dealerships have access to manufacturer recall information, including safety recalls and other recalls, provided by the manufacturer(s) of the vehicles offered for sale by the dealership. Buyers can obtain recall information on their particular vehicle by visiting the local dealership offering the make and model of particular vehicle and requesting recall data. Regarding safety recalls, in the United States, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires all vehicle manufacturers to follow a safety recall process to ensure the owners of recalled vehicles are officially notified of the potential defect and provided an opportunity to have the defect repaired free of charge. Also, a list of vehicle year, make and models subject to a safety recall is published and available to repair shops and used car dealers at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/. Buyers of used vehicles can determine whether a general category of vehicle, i.e. year, make and model, has been recalled for safety reasons by accessing the NHTSA web site and entering the year, make and model of the vehicle. The NHTSA web site does not indicate the recall status of a particular vehicle.
Consumers also desire to avoid vehicles having a history of major problems, for example, not remedied to the satisfaction of the previous owner. Many states have enacted Lemon Laws to provide consumers an effective way of dealing with new vehicles having substantial problems which the manufacturer has not been successful in correcting. Although the specific requirements of Lemon Laws vary from state to state, most Lemon Laws require a manufacturer to offer to repurchase, or buy back, the vehicle from the first owner when the problems have not been fixed within a reasonable number of attempts, or after a specific amount of time. Many, but not all, states having Lemon Laws require the vehicle title to be marked or branded with some indication that the vehicle is a “lemon”, or a manufacturer buyback, vehicle. Carfax presently acquires titling data from state titling agencies, e.g., Dept. of Motor Vehicles, and provides an indication to a user of their system regarding the existence of a manufacturer buyback when a title of a particular vehicle indicates such. Occasionally, manufacturers buy back vehicles as a courtesy to unsatisfied customers when a vehicle has problems but is not covered by the Lemon Laws. However, these courtesy buybacks are not always recorded on the vehicle title. Carfax only reports manufacturer buybacks indicated on the vehicle title and provided by a few state agencies, and therefore a system for reporting substantially all buybacks has not been achieved heretofore.
Most people shopping for a used car would also appreciate the value in knowing whether a used car they are considering buying, if previously imported into their country, meets their government's safety requirements. For example, in the United States, American consumers sometimes purchase bargain-priced vehicles that were not intended originally for sale in the U.S. marketplace. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires each imported vehicle to pass an import inspection ensuring the vehicle meets all U.S. safety and emissions requirements. In Canada, Transportation Canada handles import inspection and enforcement, with the additional requirement of running lights. Imported vehicles without an import inspection, often referred to as “grey market” vehicles, can result in unexpected disadvantages to the buyer. In many cases, the disadvantages may outweigh the cost savings. For example, in the U.S., the grey market vehicle may not comply with federal safety and emissions standards thus requiring costly adjustments or alterations prior to being used legally within the U.S. In addition, grey market goods may not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. If a grey market vehicle is defective, the manufacturer may not be willing or even required to rectify the problem.
Experian provides a web site at www.autocheck.com that provides reports with information on a vehicle's history, including an indication of whether a grey market record was located for the particular vehicle of interest. The grey market vehicle is defined as one which entered the country and did not meet U.S. safety and/or environmental standards. The Carfax web site, www.carfax.com, also indicates, based on information relating to the particular vehicle, whether the vehicle was previously registered or titled outside of the U.S. and may not comply with U.S. safety and emissions standards. However, this conclusion by Carfax is based limited information provided by only a few states. Specifically, when a consumer attempts to title or register a vehicle in a state, the state will request an import compliance document, often referred to as a release bond, from the consumer. If the consumer provides the release bond, then the state allows registration, whereas if the consumer does not provide the bond, then the state indicates the vehicle as a grey market vehicle. However many states do not make this compliance information available.